Events Archive

CMU'S Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund Application Deadline is March 1

The CMU Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund, otherwise known as OFEF, was conceived as a way to help CMU alumni entrepreneurs. Created by CMU alumnus and Flip Video Camera creator Jonathan Kaplan, the idea behind OFEF is simple: create an evergreen fund that invests in startups that are founded by CMU alumni, and create a network of mentor-alumni to help these startups. Check out more and find out how to apply.

THERE IS STILL TIME TO REGISTER

FOUNDER.org Presents: $100K Launch Day at CMU

Carnegie Mellon University entrepreneurial startups have the opportunity to compete as FOUNDER.org kicks off the 2014 $100K Competition. Ten finalist teams will win $100K each and 50 semi-finalist teams will be accepted into FOUNDER.org University, a 12-month company building program. Entrants are also eligible to apply for funding through FOUNDER.org Capital, a venture capital fund for student entrepreneurs.

FOUNDER.org works with colleges, universities and research institutes around the world to advance student entrepreneurship. We provide the scaffolding students need to be lifelong company builders. The FOUNDER.org $100K is our annual competition run in cooperation with our 22 partner schools in seven different countries. FOUNDER.org University is our 12-month, holistic company building experience that immerses teams in a wide a range of core areas. FOUNDER.org Capital is our venture capital fund for student companies. Our goal is to grow the number of students starting companies and to improve the odds that more young companies not just survive, but thrive and positively transform the world.

CONNECTS Series:

Benefits and Perils of Using Open-Source Code

There are two major misconceptions about open-source software: it is hard to make money using it, and because it is free, there are no restrictions on using it for commercial purposes. A number of recent CMU startups, however, have figured out ways to commercialize their research using an open-source model. Elijah Mayfield, Ph.D. student in the Language Technologies Institute at CMU and CEO of LightSide, will share his experience with commercializing open-source software in educational technology and discuss how LightSide was founded.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation

Financial Modeling

Dean Zarras, President and CEO of Logic9s, will introduce ClearFactr, an easy-to-use SaaS application that combines a Self-Describing Spreadsheet, a powerful financial simulator and a simple way to share and monitor everything with others.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Creative Entrepreneurship

Join us for an inspiring discussion aimed to help you understand the crazy world of entrepreneurship. The event will be led by Taylor Davidson, a 2004 Tepper alumnus and NYC venture capitalist at kbs+Ventures, a company that invests in early-stage, enterprise technology. Taylor recently co-wrote a book called Creative Entrepreneurship, which shares the perspectives of leading entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club Networking Event

Come join the Tepper Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club (EVC) for their third networking event. Pittsburgh area entrepreneurs will be in attendance and will be eager to engage in high and low tech conversations. Feel free to stop by for some great socializing and complimentary appetizers.
The first 60 attendees will receive tickets that can be redeemed for their first beverage.

Sponsored by the Tepper Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club

Learn2Code: One FirehoseWeekend

Learn to code, build an awesome web application, and launch your product using the latest technology during this intense Drink from the Firehose Weekend. The event is perfect for non-technical people who are itching to build their own Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and those who want to learn how to code. You may also attract a technical co-founder to your startup. The entire weekend is devoted to writing code and building a web application using the same tools as the best startups in the country such as Ruby on Rails, HTML5, CSS3, Github, Heroku and Twitter Bootstrap. Contact Daniel Dallala with questions about this event.

Open to Carnegie Mellon students ONLY. Seats are limited to 25 people. Price is $250 for the first five people and $300 after that.

Sponsored by the Tepper B&T and EVC Clubs

Find out what our partners at CMU's Silicon Valley Campus are doing!

Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Developments

READY TO HELP DISRUPT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?

BandPass is a social-network and service, started by a Carnegie Mellon Ph.D. candidate and James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow. It was designed to disrupt the music industry by addressing critical pain points within the band booking process, and providing users with an entirely new way to discover and experience live music. BandPass is in need of front and back-end developers who love music and want to join an early-stage startup. All positions are part-time. If interested please send your resume/portfolio to noah@bandpass.me.

OFFICE HOURS FOR DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE SALES PLAN

Bruce E. G. Smith is a seasoned sales executive for startups. He is currently engaged in sales consulting for Test Weapon Technologies, and formerly consulted for kWantera, Apangea Learning, Panasas, and Redzone Robotics. Bruce, along with marketing professional Jill Berardi, are hosting office hours to help early-stage PROBEs set up their sales plan, and later-stage PROBEs with hiring and managing a sales team. There will be a free 30-minute consulting session on your business plan, sales hiring, the sales process and sales strategy. Sign up

FOUNDER.org Presents: 100K Launch Day at CMU!

Carnegie Mellon University entrepreneurial startups have the opportunity to compete as FOUNDER.org kicks off the 2014 $100K Competition. Ten finalist teams will win $100K each and 50 semi-finalist teams will be accepted into FOUNDER.org University, a 12-month company building program. Entrants are also eligible to apply for funding through FOUNDER.org Capital, a venture capital fund for student entrepreneurs.

FOUNDER.org works with colleges, universities and research institutes around the world to advance student entrepreneurship. We provide the scaffolding students need to be lifelong company builders. The FOUNDER.org $100K is our annual competition run in cooperation with our 22 partner schools in seven different countries. FOUNDER.org University is our 12-month, holistic company building experience that immerses teams in a wide a range of core areas. FOUNDER.org Capital is our venture capital fund for student companies. Our goal is to grow the number of students starting companies and to improve the odds that more young companies not just survive, but thrive and positively transform the world.

TartanHacks 2014

TartanHacks is a hackathon designed for people who have great ideas for cool things. It is the largest software hackathon on CMU’s campus, and is open to all students. The event is run by ScottyLabs, a student organization at Carnegie Mellon University, and sponsored by Dropbox, Facebook, Amazon and a host of other high profile companies. Find out more.

Organized by ScottyLabs at Carnegie Mellon University

CONNECTS: Benefits and Perils of Using Open-Source Code

There are two major misconceptions about open-source software: it is hard to make money using it, and because it is free, there are no restrictions on using it for commercial purposes. A number of recent CMU startups, however, have figured out ways to commercialize their research using an open-source model.

Elijah Mayfield, Ph.D. student in the Language Technologies Institute at CMU and CEO of LightSide, will share his experience with commercializing open-source software in educational technology and discuss how LightSide was founded. He will also talk about best practices for building software that interoperates between open-source and proprietary code, especially focusing on viral open source licenses like the GPL. Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation will also be available to answer any questions.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation

CONNECTS: Financial Modeling

Dean Zarras, President and CEO of Logic9s, will introduce ClearFactr, an easy to use SaaS application that combines a Self-Describing Spreadsheet, a powerful financial simulator and a simple way to share and monitor everything with others. You will find out how much easier it is to develop and understand a complex financial model using software that is specifically built for the task, which all runs in a web browser. Your mind and your wallet will thank you.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

CONNECTS: Creative Entrepreneurship

Join us for an inspiring discussion aimed to help you understand the crazy world of entrepreneurship. The event will be led by Taylor Davidson, a 2004 Tepper alumnus and NYC venture capitalist at kbs+Ventures, a company that invests in early-stage, enterprise technology. Taylor recently co-wrote a book called Creative Entrepreneurship, which shares the perspectives of leading entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Learn2Code: One FirehoseWeekend

Learn to code, build an awesome web application, and launch your product using the latest technology during this one intense Drink from the Firehose Weekend. The event is perfect for non-technical people who are itching to build their own Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and those who want to learn how to code. You may also attract a technical co-founder to your startup. The entire weekend is devoted to writing code and building a web application using the same tools as the best startups in the country such as Ruby on Rails, HTML5, CSS3, Github, Heroku and Twitter Bootstrap. Contact Daniel Dallala with questions about this event.

Seats are limited to 25 people. Price is $250 for the first five people and $300 after that. Open to Carnegie Mellon students ONLY.

For Additional Events Visit the CMU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Events Page»

Come hear the story of Nest Labs from Matt Rogers, founder and VP of Engineering, in his talk From CMU Intern to Founder. Matt is responsible for all product development at Nest, ranging from mechanical design to software and web services and has created the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Protect: Smoke + Carbon Monoxide Alarm. By applying modern design and technology, Nest aims to revitalize these stagnant yet very important industries. Prior to Nest, Matt was responsible for iPod software development at Apple from concept to production. He was also one of the first engineers on the original iPhone.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

START SMART: Starting A Business On An F-1 Student Visa

Students with an F-1 student visa can legally start businesses as well as work on a startup team. Come learn what all foreign students should know about becoming an entrepreneur with an F-1 student status. Open to all entrepreneurs and startups.

START SMART is an initiative of Project Olympus of Carnegie Mellon University and the Innovation Practice Institute of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law

2014 Venture Capital Internal Investment Competition (VCIC)

The International VCIC is the premiere graduate competition for venture capital since 1998. It is a program comprised of 40 events in which business school students pretend to be VCs and invest mock dollars in REAL startups.This event will provide you with an opportunity to understand the intricacies of pitching your future company from the perspective of a VC and improve your entrepreneurial ability. Other benefits are the chance to win cash prizes and represent CMU at the regionals in Philadelphia.

If you are planning to participate in the international competition, it is time to get your team together for the internal competition. The team size limit is five graduate students. The VCIC Bootcamp, which will take place on January 18, is required for 3 out of 5 team members. Find out more about VCIC Bootcamp and the VCIC Internal Competition. Contact Tom Burke for more information.

Sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial Opportunities and New Developments

GET INSPIRED. GET HIRED. APPLY TO H'UNIVERSITY

H’University provides an unprecedented, educational and professional experience to connect you to your next internship and prepare you for your first job. The seven-week curriculum consists of webinars taught by professional inspirations (pdf) such as the Founder of Warby Parker and the Founder of Seamless. You will learn about content creation, selling, and social responsibility, while having the opportunity to interview for Summer 2014 internships at our hiring partner companies. This is a FREE program. Applications are due by January 25, 2014.Apply today!

Calling All CMU Student Entrepreneurs!

2014 McGinnis Venture Competition

Register for a chance to:

>Win $60k in investment

>Gain exposure

>Raise capital

>Interact with alumni entrepreneurs and venture capitalists

The McGinnis Venture Competition competition is a platform exclusively for Carnegie Mellon University’s global community of student entrepreneurs, bringing together the best and brightest student entrepreneurs at CMU to compete for $60k in cash prizes. All participants receive valuable feedback on their ventures and an opportunity to raise capital.

This multi-round competition begins with two virtual rounds, and will culminate in a final live-round celebration in Pittsburgh on March 6, 2014. Check out the requirements and guidelines here.

Lecture: Bitcoin and Other Crypto-Currencies, Overview of the Emerging Industry RSVP

Learn about the many aspects of Bitcoin, an open source, peer-to-peer electronic money and payment network, in a lecture presented by CMU student and OFEF Associate Justas Birgiolas and Tepper student Fares Nimri. Bitcoin uses technology to operate with no central authority or banks. Managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Attending this session will give you an understanding of Bitcoin and its derivatives that could be useful in your startup or job/internship.

Sponsored by the Tepper EVC Club and the Carnegie Mellon Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial Opportunities and New Developments

RAISE FUNDING FOR AN INNOVATIVE GAMING PLATFORM

Carnegie Mellon University startup, Digital Dream Labs, just launched a Kickstarter to raise funding for their new innovative, hands-on gaming platform called cloudBoard, which aims to teach children problem-solving skills through hands-on play. The funding period ends on December 10, 2013, at 9:00 pm EST.

ENTER THE BUSINESS BOUT COMPETITION - APPLICATION DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 19

The Business Bout is a business plan competition that awards funding to the best Pittsburgh-based business idea. Applicants also compete for space in the Hustle Den, Thrill Mill's startup accelerator. The competition is open to ideas across all industries. Applicants must submit a

Celebrate the entrepreneurial and innovative culture at CMU during the 5th Annual Global Entrepreneurship Week, which will be held at various locations on campus on November 18 - 22. Be a part of the world's largest celebration of innovators and job creators who launch startups and bring ideas to life. See the full schedule of events

Develop a selling approach that matches your personal strengths at this interactive and hands-on workshop with Adam Paulisick, Founder and Managing Partner of Data Driven Creative. Adam will help you avoid the communication habits that can slow the sales process and kill deals, while offering hands-on practice to help you sell your products and services. Members of the local, early-stage venture community will attend to help make this workshop insightful and empowering.

You can never get enough practice in delivering the perfect elevator pitch! Join us for a dynamic workshop that will help you to successfully pitch your ideas to an investor. This workshop will be led by Mel Pirchesky, founder and President of Eagle Ventures. Mel is a long-time Pittsburgh entrepreneur and the "go-to" guy for entreprenerial coaching, which is designed to help you improve how you articulate your startup's value proposition. Mel has raised over $90 million in equity solely from high, net-worth individuals. Don't miss this great opportunity to learn from a pro.

CONNECTS Workshop: Agile Product Development

Learn an iterative and interactive framework to manage the process of building your startup's, led by Sean Ammirati, Partner at Birchmere Labs and Birchmere Ventures. During this informative workshop, you will learn specific tips for implementing this framework into your venture and also hear case studies of local Pittsburgh companies who have taken advantage of these techniques.

CONNECTS Workshop: How to Pitch to an Angel

Angels invest in far more deals than VCs, and at earlier stages. This fact means that angel investors will be a vital source of funding for your start-up. Learn how to deliver a pitch to an angel that stands out from the crowd, with presenter Don Morrison, Chairman and Executive Director of BlueTree Allied Angels. BlueTree was voted the most active angel group in the Mid-Atlantic region in 2012.

CONNECTS Talk: Creative Entrepreneurship

Join us for an inspiring discussion aimed to help you understand the crazy world of entrepreneurship with Taylor Davidson, a NYC venture capitalist at kbs+Ventures, which he invests in early-stage, enterprise technology. A Tepper 2004 alumnus, Taylor recently co-wrote a book called Creative Entrepreneurship, which curates the perspectives of leading entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Project Olympus Office Hours

LEGAL OFFICE HOURS

Date: Thursday, November 7

Peter Papagianakis, CMU alumnus and Managing Member at Business Law Firm LLC, has a particular focus on startups and entrepreneurs. Peter will discuss various legal issues faced by startups and entrepreneurs, including the standard components of a VC or angel-financing term sheet; learning how startup valuations are determined; how dividends, liquidation preferences and anti-dilution rights affect startup valuations; protective provisions sought by outside investors; and best practices in establishing governance.

SPECIAL CONNECTS Workshop: Creating a Successful Video

Is your video pitch effective for competing in an online business competition for entrepreneurs? Learn how to create a successful video and capture the attention of venture capitalists. Ralph Vituccio, Assistant Professor at the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon University, will lead this very important workshop. If you are planning to participate in the McGinnis Venture Competition, your first video pitch will determine if you advance to the second round!

*The annual McGinnis Venture Competition is a two-round virtual competition followed by a live round in Pittsburgh. This competition gives students the opportunity to develop and pitch their ideas to professional entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. The competition starts in November and is open to all Carnegie Mellon undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students. Stay tuned for more information in next week's bulletin.

SPARK: STARTUPS AND EMERGING COMPANIES CAREER EVENT

Spark: Startups and Emerging Companies is an innovative career event designed to provide a platform for small business and early stage start-ups to engage Carnegie Mellon University students and alumni. Companies will be afforded the opportunity to network with, and recruit our students and alumni, as well as share information about their company story, mission, and/or products with all in attendance. Don't miss this great career opportunity!

You're Wearing It Wrong: Interview & Business Casual Attire Workshop

Learn how to avoid the biggest professional wardrobe mistakes, how to match your clothes to your career goals, and how to dress to get your dream job, at this fun and interactive workshop with CMU alum and CEO of WooWithStyle, Angela Lynn. Find out how this web app collects the details on what you're looking for using your unique features ranging from body type, color combination and lifestyle to help you dress your best. Registration is not required, however CMU students and alumni can register using TartanTrak. Contact Kevin Monahan for more information.

START SMART: Business Formation Seminar and Workshop

Join David Lehman, Partner at K&L Gates, for this informative seminar covering entity formation, founder arrangements, employee equity, splitting the founder's equity pie and a host of other topics related to forming a business. The seminar will be followed by a workshop where startups that are in pre-company formation will meet with law students to develop a 'roadmap' on recommended structure, operating agreement and other formation issues. Startups interested in participating in the workshop should contact kit@cs.cmu.edu. Open and free to all students, faculty, entrepreneurs and startups.

CONNECTS Workshop: The Art of the Investor Pitch

Learn about the strategies, tactics, and the rationale for the successful investor pitch with guest Desmond O'Connor of Innovation Works. Des works with the management teams of startup technology companies to identify and address critical business issues including intellectual property creation and protection, product development, marketing, sales, fundraising, management recruitment and growth planning. Some of these high potential enterprises become members Innovation Works's investment portfolio. Des provides mentoring and network access for these portfolio companies, and serves as an observer on the board of directors of over 20 companies.

CONNECTS Workshop: Value Designer Canvas

Join us for this informative workshop/talk with special guest, John Sutherland of Ennova, Inc. John is a creator of systems, methodologies, approaches, techniques and programs to help companies escape commoditization by creating game changers in a risk-reduced way. A former facilitator at the Xerox Int'l Training Center, John has pioneered the use of many thought provoking customer-centric innovation techniques to generate breakthrough ideas. Find out more [.pdf]

CONNECTS: Dos and Don'ts of Student Business Teams

Getting your team set up properly in the beginning can avoid problems in the future. Come learn the basics about forming a business team. Students will form teams to work on business ideas that could become start-up business ventures or class projects.

CIE Entrepreneurship Boot Camp: Open to all CMU students

Entrepreneurship Boot Camp is a one-day glimpse into entrepreneurship both at Carnegie Mellon Univeristy and in Pittsburgh. The 2013 Boot Camp will focus on four main sessions: an introduction to entrepreneurship, an idea screening workshop led by Innovation Works' Frank Demmler, Design Thinking for New Business Ideas, and a networking event at Pittsburgh accelerator AlphaLab. See the full schedule [.pd]

Lila Ibrahim joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a partner in 2010, working across the firm's digital and greentech portfolios. Lila currently leads KPCB's business development efforts, key partnerships and strategic initiatives. All lectures are open to Carnegie Mellon faculty, students, staff and select guests.

Sustainable energy presents one of the chief challenges facing society, and computational methods can play a role in transforming how we understand and optimize energy. In this talk Dr. Kolter will highlight some of his group's ongoing research using machine learning and data analysis techniques to tackle key challenges in sustainable energy systems.

The rise of the social web presents new opportunities and challenges for computational and statistical analysis of text data. We can now explore corpora of messages written by huge segments of the population and observe many dimensions of the social context of these messages. Dr. Smith will review some of his analyses exploring how message content varies with social variables, and how we can use text to forecast social outcomes in scientific and political domains.

Over the past two years, large-scale machine learning approaches such as Deep-Networks have dramatically improved the accuracy of large vocabulary speech recognition. Dr. Lane will review the state-of-the-art in speech recognition and speech-analytic technologies, and will present his group's recent work in GPU-accelerated machine learning and speech recognition for large-scale speech-analytics and related tasks.

Dr. Treuille will present his experiences creating large-scale crowdsourcing projects, which have involved hundreds of thousands of non-expert gamers in the search for scientific truth. The talk will go over the implications and challenges of this new crowdsourcing approach, not only on a technological level, but also educational, legal, and economic.

Breakout Session 1, 2:00-3:00 pm

Lumator provides intelligent automated services that optimize how residential electricity consumers buy and use electricity. Deregulated electricity markets are creating opportunities for hundreds of dollars in annual savings that most consumers are unable to exploit because they lack the required expertise and tools. Lumator uses proprietary machine learning technology to solve this problem for consumers and address a $1.5B market that is growing steadily.

At 3Gear, we believe that the future of human computer interaction isn't a better mouse. We're developing technology that lets you use all ten of your fingers and both of your hands to interact with a computer like you interact with the real world. Our first product is a "lamp" that understand your gestures.

Solvvy is an intelligent problem solving assistant that gives you the best solution from the Web when you verbally describe your problem, no matter how complex. Behind the scenes, Solvvy uses a unique combination of Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence technology to understand your problem, find solutions on the Web, and rank them based on relevance and credibility. As both a free mobile app and a website, Solvvy is available whenever you need help.

Breakout Session 2, 4:00-5:00 pm

Networking Reception in the Grand Lobby, 5:00 pm

Transportation Commercialization Event

Do you have a transportation technology idea? Come join a conversation about how to spin-off a company. CMU students and faculty who are interested in transportation technology transfer are invited to attend the Tech Transfer Workshop hosted by Traffic 21 and T-SET. Come hear from researchers, tech transfer and entrepreneurship experts, and investors. Find out more about the event [.pdf]

Creative Sandwich #2: Learning To Pitch Yourself

You may be good at selling a product, your artwork, or selling information that you teach, but can you pitch yourself? Join Adam Paulisick, Data Driven Creative, for this informative workshop. Adam is a Pittsburgh native turned private equity investor, who went on to lead a successfully-acquired startup and the parent companies' international commercial strategy team. In this dynamic workshop, Adam will show you how to develop a commercial that is all about you.You'll walk away with a message that helps you to stand out in a crowd and become the person that everyone notices. Find out more and register.

FOUNDER.org $100k Program at CMU

FOUNDER.org is partnering with Carnegie Mellon University to provide funding and mentoring to students who are graduating and starting high impact companies. Carnegie Mellon students are eligible to apply for this $100K program. Founders accepted into the program receive:

$100K funding grant

Mentoring by successful entrepreneurs: mock monthly board meetings to review business progress, training on recruiting and managing A-player talent, a high impact team building program for the founding team.

Education and instruction on intellectual property processes.

Help in developing and measuring key performance metrics through analytics and guidance raising additional funding.

James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Leadership Series and the University Lecture Series present: Bill Campbell

Join us for a fireside chat with Bill Campbell, a Homestead native who is widely known as “The Coach of Silicon Valley” for the legendary roles he has played coaching many of the region’s most high impact entrepreneurs. Bill Campbell previously served as Intuit’s President and CEO from 1994 to 1998 and as CEO from 1999 to 2000. During Campbell’s tenure, Intuit solidified its position as the clear leader in tax, personal finance and small business accounting software. Find out more [.pdf]

McGinnis Venture Competition Final Round

Date: Friday, March 22,Time: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Location: University Center, Peter and Wright Rooms. Open to the community

Come and check out the McGinnis Venture Competition live final round participants and watch them pitch! The McGinnis Venture Competition is a three round competition, giving the students the opportunity to develop and pitch their ideas to professional entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. The competition is open to all Carnegie Mellon undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students. For more information contact Giselle Marino.

Learn about opportunities and challenges that mobile provides for the Global 2000 with Bill Seibel, Founder & CEO of Mobiquity, in a talk entitled, The Mobile Revolution: Lessons Learned and Industry Trends. Bill is a man of entrepreneurial vision, and that vision led him to founding Mobiquity. Bill is also Executive Chairman of LogMatrix, and earlier served as Chairman and CEO of Demantra, a leading provider of supply chain and marketing collaboration and analytics that he sold to Oracle in 2006. Bill serves on several technology start-up and charitable boards including the College of Information Sciences & Technology at Penn State University, Penn State's College of Engineering and the Tepper School of Business at CMU. He received his MBA from CMU.

Start Smart: Structuring & Negotiating 3rd Party Relationships

Third party relationships can come in a variety of forms e.g. Joint ventures, Partnerships and Licensing. Creating strategic partnerships can add tremendous value, if the partnership is structured properly. Since every partnership is different, start-ups must understand the differences between the forms and how to negotiate the best terms to ensure the partnership success.

Needs Driven Innovation Workshop

The goal of this workshop is to explain needs driven innovation in a corporate setting and how the needs of a customer can drive a solution. This workshop will be led by Arthur A. Boni, Ph.D, John R. Thorne Distinguished Career Professor of Entrepreneurship at Tepper. Art teaches undergraduates, MBAs and executives in emerging companies.

Summer at Highland Info Session

Entering its sixth year, Summer@Highland is an entrepreneurship program designed to provide student founders with the environment and resources to advance their startups to the next level over the summer. Admitted teams receive $18k to spend during the program, free office space at Highland, an opportunity to work closely with our investor team, and access to a network of seasoned mentors through the Summer@Highland Speaker Series.

TartanHacks

Sponsored by ScottyLabs, in association with CMU School of Computer Sciene Undergraduate Program, Women@SCS, and Project Olympus.TartanHacks is a hackathon designed for people who have great ideas for cool things. Last year, TartanHacks became the biggest hackathon on CMU’s campus (and the only student-run one).

Start Smart Starting with an F-1 Visa

Students with an F-1 student visa can legally start businesses and work on a start-up team under certain conditions. Come learn what all foreign students should know before starting a business to ensure you are in compliance with your visa status.

A Day with Raj Kapur

Sponsored by Project Olympus and the Don Jones Center. Join Raj Kapoor, a successful entrepreneur/VC, Managing Director of the Mayfield Fund, cofounder/CEO of Snapfish, and now founder of cofounder, for a must see talk/discussion as he shares lessons learned from his startup Snapfish, what VC's look for in tech internet/mobile startups, and his new model of helping entrepreneurs cofound companies to give them the benefit of experience. Raj will also answer questions after this exciting talk!

Meeting with Raj Kapur Application Required

Sponosred by Project Olympus and the Don Jones Center. Raj is seeking to meet technically oriented potential entrepreneurs at "founding stage" (company need not be formed yet), in the digital media/consumer/small business/enterprise internet/mobile sectors specifically, who want to start/move their company to the Bay Area and are interested in partnering with him. Apply for a 1:1, 30 minute meeting here. TAG your application "CMU" and Raj will get back to you on the meeting decision and scheduling.

Social Innovation Solutions Challenge presents: Chris Guillebeau

To kick off this year's Social Innovation Solutions Challenge at CMU, we are welcoming Chris Guillebeau, http://chrisguillebeau.com/, author of The $100 Startup, to CMU. Chris is a writer, entrepreneur, and world traveler.

Venture Capital Overview

Friday, November 30, 2012, 11:30am – Posner Hall Simon Auditorium.

Professor Michael Ewens will be at Tepper to provide an overview of Venture Capital. This is a lead up event to the Venture Capital International Competition (VCIC). VCIC is your chance to shine in front of VCs from all over North America and compete with schools from all across the globe.

Saturday, December 1, 7pm – 11pm.Roland's in the Strip District - Second Floor.

Learn more about TiE-Pittsburgh's Business Mentoring Roundtable and Meet Past Presenters. Then, celebrate the successes of 2012 with us!

Tête-à-tête with Duolingo

Tuesday, December 4, 5:30pm – 6:20pm, Posner, Room 151.

Meet with Jose Fuentes, one of the core members of Duolingo and learn how he and his team turned a crowd sourcing idea into a VC funded start-up. Duolingo is a free language learning service that uses participants' answers to translate Web pages. Founded by Carnegie Mellon University assistant professor of computer science, Luis Von Ahn.

In Search of Innovation in Energy

Tuesday, December 4, 5:30pm – 8:00pm, Pgh Golf Club.

Marquee event to understand innovations in the pipeline and unmet needs in the coal and gas industries. Several selected teams in energy will make their Elevator Pitch and receive feedback from a panel of experts. Sponsored by MIT Enterprise Forum.

Social Innovation Solutions Challenge presents: Chris Guillebeau

To kick off this year's Social Innovation Solutions Challenge at CMU, we are welcoming Chris Guillebeau, http://chrisguillebeau.com/, author of The $100 Startup, to CMU. Chris is a writer, entrepreneur, and world traveler.

Venture Capital Overview

Thursday, Sept 13th, 2012, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Pitt Law School, 3900 Forbes Ave, Room 113. Learn the legal issues associated with raising capital from Friends and Family and other sources with a special focus on the new JOBS Act. Open and free to all across the region.

CONNECTS: The Dos & Don'ts of Forming Business Teams

AlphaLab Info Session

Design Workshop

Thursday, September, 27, 2012, 12:00- 1:30 p.m. Location TBD.

what they say

Brad Barbin, Founder Find Notice and Bull Moose, TPR '11.

“Project Olympus is a space where like-minded people from diverse backgrounds gather to talk about how they might someday change the world. PROBEs are provided with all the resources that an early stage start-up today could need....”